Internship Portfolio

Internship

Amical, summer 2026

I completed my summer 2026 internship at Amical, a French fine dining restaurant in Traverse City, Michigan. My main station was apps, and I worked salads when needed. Over the summer I was trained on tasks that normally belong to the chef and sous chef and started learning saute.

The Amical sign at night with the State Theatre marquee and fireworks behind it — **Amical**Front Street, downtown Traverse City, Michigan.

June and July: happy hour bites

My first plates at Amical were four dollar happy hour bites. The bacon wrapped date came off the apps station. The duck drumette came off salads. Neither is on the menu anymore. Apps runs the grill, puts the seasonal walleye or halibut in the oven, makes the French onion soup, and plates dishes that come from both saute and apps. Salads makes salads, desserts, and the appetizers that work better from that station.

A single bacon wrapped date on a white plate with dots of sauce — **Bacon Wrapped Date**Anavery Farm beef bacon, Point Reyes blue cheese, saba. Happy hour bite, apps station.

A glazed duck drumette with sesame seeds and cilantro on a small white plate — **Duck Drumette**Asian pear kimchi glaze, sesame, cilantro. Happy hour bite, salads station.

Grilled pork chop over polenta with kale chips and a strawberry relish — **Grilled Pork Chop**Polenta, kale chips, strawberry ravigote. Apps station.

August: apps station

The tomato toast came off salads. The pork was cooked on saute and plated by me on apps.

Tomato toast with stracciatella, yellow tomato and basil on a grey plate — **Tomato Toast**Zenner Farms tomato, housemade sourdough rye, stracciatella, basil, arugula, pickled green tomato. Salads station.

Sliced pork with peanuts, herbs and lime on a blue speckled plate — **Pork**Peanuts, lime, mint, basil, Thai chili hot sauce, rice, onion. Cooked on saute, plated on apps.

September: the fall menu

These plates came on at the start of September. The tomato tart and the tuna came off salads. The scallop was cooked on saute and plated by me on apps.

Tomato tart with cured salmon and dill on a blue plate — **Tomato Tart**Horseradish cream, cured salmon, Zenner Farms tomato, pickled green tomato, dill, sesame seed. Salads station.

Sliced seared tuna with dots of aioli and microgreens on a green plate — **Tuna**Seared rice-crusted tuna, pineapple mayo, yuzu ponzu, micro cilantro, pickled mirepoix. Salads station.

Seared scallop in creamed corn with basil oil and a nasturtium flower in a pink bowl — **Scallop**Creamed corn, scallop, basil oil, lime gel, pickled shaved beets. Cooked on saute, plated on apps.

Beyond the line

The chef or sous chef normally writes the prep list for the morning prep cooks. I was shown how to do it and started writing it myself.

I also learned to process whole halibut into portions and to scrape tuna to reduce waste. Near the end of the summer I began unofficial training on saute, searing scallops and crab cakes.

Alex writing on a prep list at a desk with a clipboard — **Writing the morning prep list**Amical, summer 2026.

Six members of the Amical kitchen and dish crew posing in the dish room — **Kitchen and dish crew**Amical, summer 2026.

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